Upper Iowa University
Private College in Fayette, IA. Six-year graduation rate 34%. Median 10-year earnings $52,766.
Ten years after entry, the median Upper Iowa University student earns $52,766 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Only 34% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,000, neither a bargain nor a burden.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 34% — below national average
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 96%, Upper Iowa University takes nearly everyone who applies. Only 452 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. Yield sits at 34% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 13% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | 3 (2%) |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 17–23 | 19 (13%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Upper Iowa University →Academics
Only 34% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. 68% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. With 36% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. The 25:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,026 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $20,426 annually once grants are applied. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($17,715 versus $23,805), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 67% get grants averaging $9,339, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 50% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 155 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $17,715 |
| $30–48k | $22,774 |
| $48–75k | $18,720 |
| $75–110k | $20,041 |
| $110k+ | $23,805 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,013 of these 2,026 students, totalling $8,648,396 — an average of $8,537 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Fayette County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)